Achieving Goals

How is January treating you?  How are you doing with your resolutions goals?  So many people spend time and energy crafting their goals (or resolutions) at the end of December/beginning of January only to have them fade from consciousness well before the year is out (or the goals are met).

Setting your intentions or goals is an important first step.  Here are some additional steps that can help you achieve them, since that’s really the goal, right?

Keep them in sight
I’ve found a lot of success with Bullet Journaling (so much so that I’m offering a Bullet Journal Basics workshop to help others get started) and a big part of that is the built-in monthly check in and keeping them where I can see them.

I have my goals listed on a page of my BuJo (yes, it has a nickname) and I look at them at least weekly, sometimes more.

Track your progress
Humans like visible progress.  We like meeting markers, even if we set them ourselves.  Breaking big goals down into steps you can complete helps you keep moving forward.

I have these steps featured on my monthly tracker in my BuJo, which means I see them every day AND get to put a check mark in the box when I finish them.

Link them up
You set your goals for a reason, and reminding yourself of your why is important.  Having that tie in can help you make good decisions when temptation presents itself.

One of my goals is related to travel, and in order to meet it I need to save up funds.  I am working on limiting my incidental spending and, as a result, I’m thinking about my official goal (travel) every time I think about stopping for a latte (spending).  I don’t have “limit spending” as an official goal – it is a means to get my goal met, and gives me a built-in reminder.

Set check-in dates
When you’re looking at big changes or big goals, they can take a long time to meet.  Fatigue can set in and will often derail you.  Setting up check-points along the way can help you rally to get to and past the markers and towards the big goal finish line.

For some of my goals I have set markers up in my Future Log (yes, the BuJo again) so I have a visual representation of where I need to be at the 3 or 6 month marks in order to meet them by their deadlines.  It’s really helpful to have them broken down into smaller chunks.

Celebrate the Wins
When (not if) you meet a goal or a mid-point marker it’s important to throw yourself a party!  Well, maybe not a full shindig…even a super happy Facebook post will do.  We need to celebrate our wins to fuel us forward on the rest of the list.

I am currently ahead of the curve for my reading goal, and I’m pretty much telling anyone who will listen how awesome that is.  The mini celebration makes me hungry to meet more of the goals on my list so I’ll get to celebrate those, too!

Setting goals is awesome.  Meeting goals is extra awesome.  Share your successes and progress with me here in the comments or on our facebook/instagram accounts.  Use #nailingit2017 so we can all celebrate you, too!